The Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest gathering, saw over 65 crore devotees in attendance, but it also presented a significant opportunity to raise awareness about scams and fraud. The Anti Scam Shala campaign, with its #ConmanVsCommonMan initiative, aimed to educate the masses on the importance of digital payment safety.
Leveraging the eco-friendly practice of using newspaper pouches, the initiative transformed comic strips into educational material on scams, distributed in various sizes and languages. Thanks to The Times of India’s (TOI) far-reaching platform, these messages reached millions of people in their preferred language, ensuring the widest possible exposure.
While #ConmanVsCommonMan educates people through comics published fortnightly in seven newspapers, this collaboration between NPCI and TOI aimed to further amplify the message by specifically addressing digital payment frauds and boosting confidence in UPI transactions across India.
The audience at the Maha Kumbh was seen as an ideal opportunity to spread these critical safety messages to a massive number of UPI users quickly. Anti Scam Shala creatively integrated scam awareness into every purchase, as vendors handed out newspaper pouches to customers. Whether purchasing incense sticks or clothing, each transaction presented an opportunity to educate shoppers about the latest scams, ensuring they remained cautious in their digital dealings.
Aalap Desai, CCO & Co-Founder of tgthr., remarked, “Newspaper bags are commonplace in India and quintessentially Indian. They are used everywhere, every single day, and their usage has increased significantly since the plastic ban in India and during the Maha Kumbh. While the Maha Kumbh is primarily about the holy dip in the Ganges, a lot happens around it—daily shopping for items ranging from incense sticks, flowers, and diyas to bangles and everyday essentials like soap and cream. One thing common in all these transactions is the newspaper bag, which is handed to the customer just before they make the payment. So, we thought of leveraging this common yet unique touchpoint and turning it into a learning opportunity. This idea gave birth to the Anti-Scam Shala.”
He added, “Maha Kumbh, the largest congregation of humanity, saw 65 crore people come together, making it an ideal platform to emphasise the safety of digital transactions. The Times of India’s iconic ‘Common Man’ became a symbol of vigilance through the Anti Scam Shala campaign. Paper carry bags with the digital safety message were placed at all points of sale, and millions of devotees were exposed to the digital safety message each time they purchased their puja wares at the Maha Kumbh, thereby reinforcing trust in UPI and digital payments and empowering millions to transact safely at Kumbh.”
Sameer Sainani, President of Optimal Media Solutions, further added, “The Anti Scam Shala initiative reinforces our commitment towards promoting digital payments and their safety. TOI is extremely proud of this partnership with NPCI and tgthr. and is committed to the adoption of digital transactions in a safe environment.”
